Land Transport Authority Feeder services to MRT stations
The current bus network comprise of over 300 services that provides a comprehensive coverage of the whole of Singapore. It is possible to get from one part of Singapore to another part on a direct service or by making one or two transfers.

While this system is necessary in the old days before the MRT network was fully developed, it is probably redundant and costly to operate. 

The bus network can now be replaced by a new network of feeder buses to bring commuters to the nearby MRT station, where they can use the MRT network to travel a long distance to their destination. If the final destination is far from the MRT station, the commuter can make another transfer on a feeder bus. 

The current network of over 300 services can be replaced by a new network of 120 feeder buses, with an average of 2 feeder services serving each town. The feeder buses travel a short distance within the town and can be at intervals of 2 to 5 minutes during peak and off peak hours. 

The cost of operating the feeder bus network is likely to be much lower than the cost of operating the current network of over 300 bus services. 

I guess that the potential savings could be $50 million a year. 

At a later stage, it should be possible to replace the manned feeder buses by an autonomous feeder buses. As the feeder service is short, it should be quite easy to convert the buses to run autonomously. These autonomous buses can run on electricity.

While this will reduce drivers, it will create jobs to provide customer service and technicians to service the buses. 

Under the new system of feeder buses, it may be difficult for the wheelchair users to make many transfers. Their needs can be better met by providing a network of wheelchair ready vehicles to bring them to medical facilities. This can be called on demand or by a service that operate at hourly or half hourly intervals. 

I hope that the Land Transport Authority will think about this option for the future. 

Tan Kin Lian






 

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